A would-be blockbuster between the Celtics, Clippers, and Wizards appeared dead in the water late Wednesday night.

Word from the NBA insiders suggested that the Clippers weren’t satisfied with the medicals on the Celtics’ Malcolm Brogdon, and that the parties involved were “moving on.” That, with less than two hours to go before the centerpiece of the trade, 7-foot-3 big man Kristaps Porzingis, had to opt in or out of his deal, spelled troubled and then some.

But the Celtics and Wizards found a new third party, and the Memphis Grizzlies entering this trade took it up an entirely new level of NBA offseason insanity, with Marcus Smart thrown into the late-night package.

• The Grizzlies have been searching for a tough-minded, playoff-tested veteran for that young roster --- and landed him in Marcus Smart. https://t.co/m6aGeekHsZ

  — Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 22, 2023

• The loss of Smart, the No. 6 overall pick from the 2014 NBA Draft and the longest tenured Celtic, is an obviously stunning development, and not one that was expected when word of this trade first broke Wednesday afternoon.

  In fact, it had appeared that the Celtics had made their decision within their crowded backcourt and decided that Brogdon, not Smart or Derrick White (or even Payton Pritchard) would be the odd man out for Joe Mazzulla’s squad.

  The 6-foot-4 Smart departs the Celtics after a 2022-23 campaign that included a career-high 6.3 assists per game, along with the third-best shooting percentages of his career, with a 41.5 field goal percentage and 33.6 percent mark from three-point range. Smart, who signed a four-year max extension with the Celtics back in 2021, won the Defensive Player of the Year Award in 2022.

  The loss of Smart also indicates that the Celtics are indeed shaking up their core and identity, which is something that Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens appeared a little reluctant to do when speaking with reporters following the conclusion of the season.

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  Jun 5, 2022; San Francisco, California, USA; Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart (36) brings the ball up court during the first quarter against the Golden State Warriors during game two of the 2022 NBA Finals at Chase Center. (Cary Edmondson/USA TODAY Sports)

• The Celtics’ decision to part with Smart will bring them into the first round of Thursday’s NBA Draft, according to Adrian Wojnarowski, as the Grizzlies will send first-round picks in 2023 and 2024 to Boston in the three-team deal.

  Prior to the trade, the Celtics had a single second-round selection for the 2023 NBA Draft, as they parted with their 2023 first-round selection in the 2022 trade that brought Brogdon to the Celtics.

  The 2023 first-round pick sent to Boston will be the No. 25 overall pick, while the 2024 selection originally belonged to the Golden State Warriors, according to Wojnarowski.

• The Grizzlies are sending 2023 and 2024 first-round picks to the Celtics, sources tell ESPN. Grizzlies are sending No. 25 on Thursday night and 2024 pick via Golden State for Smart.

  — Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 22, 2023

• Beyond Smart, the Celtics will send Danilo Gallinari and Mike Muscala to Washington, according to multiple reports. The Boston Globe’s Adam Himmelsbach was the first to report their inclusion in the deal.

  Signed by the Celtics last offseason, Gallinari’s Celtics run never got off the ground, as the Italian sharpshooter suffered a torn ACL while playing for Italy in a FIBA World Cup contest last summer. That injury forced Gallinari to miss the entire 2022-23 season and all of Boston’s three-round playoff run.

  The decision to include Gallinari in the deal was a fiscal need more than anything else, really and came just days after Gallinari opted in to the second year of his deal with the Celtics.

  Muscala, meanwhile, came over in a deadline deal with the Thunder this past February. The 6-foot-11 big man averaged 5.9 points and 3.4 rebounds per game, and shot 47.2 percent (38.5 percent from deep), while averaging 16 minutes per game over the course of his 20-game run with the Celtics.

  The Celtics will also send a 2023 second-round pick to the Wizards in the trade.

• 

  BOSTON, MA – APRIL 9: Mike Muscala #57 of the Boston Celtics during the second half against the Atlanta Hawks at TD Garden on April 9, 2023 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Winslow Townson/Getty Images)

• But the talk of this one shouldn’t be about what the Celtics are losing, but what they’re bringing into the fold.

  An absolute unicorn as a big who can shoot from all over the court, the 27-year-old Porzingis is coming to Boston on the heels of what was a career year in Washington. The Latvian-born center played in and started 65 games for the Wizards, and averaged a career-high 23.2 points per game on a career-best 49.8 field goal percentage. Porzingis also shot a respectable 38.5 percent from beyond the arc, and grabbed 8.4 rebounds per game.

  The fourth-overall pick by the New York Knicks in the 2015 NBA Draft, Porzingis has had an up-and-down NBA career. Viewed at the time as a true ‘stretch-four’ who could help stretch the floor even at his size, injuries have been an issue for him at times, and he’s played in an average of 50 games per season over his eight-year career.

  This also isn’t the first time the Celtics have tried to trade for Porzingis, as they reportedly offered the Knicks the No. 3 overall pick for him back in 2017. That deal ultimately fell through after the Knicks also asked for Jaylen Brown and more as part of the package. That was certainly the right call, as the C’s ultimately used that pick to select superstar and franchise cornerstone Jayson Tatum.

• 

  NEW YORK, NEW YORK – FEBRUARY 04: Kristaps Porzingis #6 of the Washington Wizards reacts after hitting a three point basket during the first half against the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center on February 04, 2023 in New York City. (Mike Stobe/Getty Images)

• Stevens & Co.’s decision to include Smart in this trade would lead one to believe that the Celtics believe in Porzingis and want to extend him beyond the 2023-24 season.

  Whether or not that happens — especially with supermax contracts for Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum looming over the club — will be yet another CBA-headache that Stevens and the Celtics will have to navigate their way through.

  But in the now, the Celtics have who they clearly view as their man in the frontcourt.

  But at a price that’s a whole lot different than what it was at 3 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon.

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